Hello All,
First thread here. Unfortunately it's taken much frustration for me to create my first HBT thread...
It all started with my first lager brew. I read the Fermenting Lagers wiki many times, and loved the idea of using the spunding valve to naturally carbonate my lager.
So I purchased this guy from Northern Brewer. Once I got it I realized this valve only let me manually bleed off the pressure. I was thinking this valve would allow me to set it to a psi setting, and any excess pressure would auto bleed off. I dealt with it for my first lager, which is about to be transferred to a serving keg.
After a little research I figured I could get a pressure relief valve from Grainger (No mcmaster in Portland) and swap out the manual valve. I bought this valve (#5Z763).
I followed the directions that came with the valve to convert it from "Vacuum" to "Pressure Relief" mode. Then I swapped out the manual valve for the new pressure relief valve. Here is where I got frustrated.
To test it out, I placed the new valve assembly on a keg. I quickly noticed it was relieving pressure slowly. I made sure the valve was completely closed, but it continued to hiss. I made sure there were no leaks around the connection. It was all leaking out of the port on the valve. I tried taking it apart many times, and reassembling it. None were successful. There is just a little ball and a spring inside. I imagine adjusting the valve takes pressure of the ball which lets excess CO2 vent. I tried putting washers inside to force the spring to put more pressure on the ball. Didn't work either. Could the ball be too small? (Size does matter in this situation...)
I'm not a complete noob when it comes to brewing and DIY. However, I'm not very experienced with these sort of fittings, so I am not sure if there is something I am missing. I would appreciate any recommendations to help remediate this problem.
Am I missing any parts? Like an elbow or a spacer to move the valve away from the gauge.
Is the valve bad?
I know, I know, I should relax and have a home brew.
Thanks ahead of time for any help, or just sharing in my frustration.
First thread here. Unfortunately it's taken much frustration for me to create my first HBT thread...
It all started with my first lager brew. I read the Fermenting Lagers wiki many times, and loved the idea of using the spunding valve to naturally carbonate my lager.
So I purchased this guy from Northern Brewer. Once I got it I realized this valve only let me manually bleed off the pressure. I was thinking this valve would allow me to set it to a psi setting, and any excess pressure would auto bleed off. I dealt with it for my first lager, which is about to be transferred to a serving keg.
After a little research I figured I could get a pressure relief valve from Grainger (No mcmaster in Portland) and swap out the manual valve. I bought this valve (#5Z763).
I followed the directions that came with the valve to convert it from "Vacuum" to "Pressure Relief" mode. Then I swapped out the manual valve for the new pressure relief valve. Here is where I got frustrated.
To test it out, I placed the new valve assembly on a keg. I quickly noticed it was relieving pressure slowly. I made sure the valve was completely closed, but it continued to hiss. I made sure there were no leaks around the connection. It was all leaking out of the port on the valve. I tried taking it apart many times, and reassembling it. None were successful. There is just a little ball and a spring inside. I imagine adjusting the valve takes pressure of the ball which lets excess CO2 vent. I tried putting washers inside to force the spring to put more pressure on the ball. Didn't work either. Could the ball be too small? (Size does matter in this situation...)
I'm not a complete noob when it comes to brewing and DIY. However, I'm not very experienced with these sort of fittings, so I am not sure if there is something I am missing. I would appreciate any recommendations to help remediate this problem.
Am I missing any parts? Like an elbow or a spacer to move the valve away from the gauge.
Is the valve bad?
I know, I know, I should relax and have a home brew.
Thanks ahead of time for any help, or just sharing in my frustration.
